Jewish tour of Buenos Aires

Jewish Tour of Buenos Aires

An in-depth historical tour of Jewish life in the country from the formation of the Argentine state to the present.

Argentina is home to Latin America’s largest Jewish population, with a community of around 240,000, whose history goes back to the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions when Jews fled to Argentina to escape persecution. During the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, the Argentine Republic underwent unique and far-reaching changes. One of them was the growth of its population (due to immigration from Eastern and Western European countries sponsored by the Argentine government) in such a magnitude that it quadrupled the numbers of its inhabitants in forty-five years. In turn, this increase was made under conditions that substantially modified its composition in proportions that have not changed until today. Today, Buenos Aires is an international hub of Jewish life and boasts a sophistication that is unmatched in South America.

This comprehensive tour is an exploration through Buenos Aires districts that reveals landmarks and institutions of a vibrant Jewish heritage. Lead by experienced guides, this Jewish Tour of Buenos Aires is an unique learning experience that educates visitors about Jewish life in the country from the formation of the Argentine state to the present.

What will I experience?

Jewish Quarter and the Garment District

Begin with a scenic drive through the vibrant neighborhood of Once (Buenos Aires’ most important garment district) an exciting opportunity for immersion in a fascinating religious and cultural experience.

The growth of the population in the city and the urban modifications of the time meant that by 1910 the Jewish presence began to move from east to west, towards the neighborhood popularly called “Once”, named after the September 11 train terminal located in the neighborhood. The Garment District is home to a number of well-known designers, their production facilities, warehouses, showrooms, and suppliers of fabric and materials.

Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe as well as Sephardim from the Middle East settled in Once neighborhood along with its institutions, synagogues, retail stores and best kosher restaurants of Buenos Aires.

Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA)

Founded in 1894, A.M.I.A’s initial mission was to promote the well-being and development of Jewish life in Argentina and to secure the continuity and values of the Jewish community. A.M.I.A soon became the place where Jewish people could come together and participate in Jewish life. Tragically, a terrorist bombing on A.M.I.A in 1994, killed 84 people and left the facility destroyed. The center was re-built in 1999, featuring an original Agam memorial monument to the Victims of the AMIA Bombing 1994 by the Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.

Today, AMIA continues offering responses in employment, childhood, the elderly, youth, care for vulnerable families, disabilities, education, youth, community burials, culture, and support to Jewish communities throughout Argentina.

Paso Synagogue (Ashkenazi Traditional)

The Great Paso Temple is one of the most beautiful in all of South America. The first Talmud Torah (house of religious studies) of the City of Buenos Aires was located here, founded in 1894. Its imposing construction, a historical heritage of the city, was erected in 1929 and contemplates the most beautiful Ashkenazi iconography from which its founders originated.

Gran Templo Paso is a vibrant, intense and thriving community experience, Modern Orthodox oriented, open and friendly.

Shoah Museum of Buenos Aires

The Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires has re-opened to the public after a two-year refurbishment. It hosts groundbreaking exhibits, most notably “Dimensions in Testimony,” a curated, interactive experience—already showing at select museums around the world—where visitors can virtually engage with survivors of the Shoah.

The Buenos Aires Shoah Museum, the only of its kind in Latin America, serves as a museum, memorial and moral reminder by telling the story of the Holocaust and its impact in Argentina and wider South America.

Under the motto, ‘To remember is to avoid repeating history,’ the foundation’s mission is to keep the memory of the Holocaust present, honor those lost and to serve as a poignant reminder of the atrocities that can stem from racism and xenophobia.

Nazi Artifacts

In 2019 the museum took custody of the largest collection of Nazi artifacts to ever be discovered in Argentina. A collector in Buenos Aires was discovered to have more than 70 Nazi artifacts in a house raid. The items were most likely brought to Argentina by Nazis escaping to Argentina to avoid prosecution in Germany after World World II. The collector faced criminal charges for having possession of items of illegal origin.

The museum also has a library of over three thousand volumes of Holocaust-related literature in Spanish, German, Yiddish, and Polish.

Libertad synagogue and the Jewish museum of Buenos Aires

The Libertad synagogue was founded in 1862. In 1932 with an influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, the congregation built a new building. Today it is recognized as a historical monument by the city of Buenos Aires- and houses a museum and a Kosher restaurant.

The Israeli Embassy Memorial Plaza

This is the last stop of our tour. The Israeli Embassy Memorial Plaza in Buenos Aires recalls in stone the void left by a terrorist attack. At 14.45 on March 17, 1992, a powerful bomb shattered the building of the Israel Embassy in Buenos Aires, taking the lives of 29 people.

On 20 November 2007, a memorial was inaugurated on the site of the former embassy. A marble monument, a replica of the column of the original embassy building, stands today in the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, in memory of those who died who died on that fateful day in 1992, bearing the verse of the prophet Amos:  “I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.”

*This tour is available during week days except for Jewish holidays. The duration of this tour is 4 hours.

Don’t miss this one in a lifetime opportunity of an in-depth discovery experience of immersion into an ancient culture living in the modern times and very best of Jewish Buenos Aires.

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Libertad Synagogue in Buenos Aires

Libertad Synagogue in Buenos Aires

Libertad Synagogue enjoys a vibrant history in Buenos Aires City dating back to the early 1800s and it is proud of its rich and well-documented past.

 

The history of Argentinean Jewry begins with a legend: the story tells that by the end of 1862, on the occasion of the High Holidays, the first minyan in Buenos Aires was gathered. Even though its members had been anonymous, they were responsible for putting down the roots of the communal life in Argentina, and as a result of their initiative some years later the Israelite Congregation of Argentina (CIRA) was founded.  

The origins of a Jewish quarter and Libertad Synagogue

At the beginning of the 19th century, the present-day Lavalle square  was a vacant lot that became important due to the installation of the Artillery Park. Around 1857, with the inauguration of the train station in the place where the Colon Theater is located today, the landscape was transformed until it became an important center of urban circulation. Plaza Lavalle was one of the most attractive spots for recently arrived Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.

In 1895, 62% of the Jews lived in the area limited by Lavalle, Viamonte, Libertad and Talcahuano streets. It was there that the first ethnic restaurants, libraries, precarious workshops arose, and the Yiddish press took its initial steps. In this vibrant environment, the Israelite Congregation (CIRA) stood out, established in 1862 by a small group of Jewish immigrants of French, German and English origin. Its temple, erected in 1897 on Libertad street, was the first in the city. During the festivities, the tall galleys of the men of the Congregation mixed with the caps of the humblest.


As a result of the wide range of Jewish immigrants who arrived in the country between 1920 and 1930, there was a need to broaden the goals of the organization and also to enlarge the facilities of the synagogue. Thus, in 1932, the new building was founded.

About the stunning architecture of Libertad Synagogue

Its cornerstone is from 1897 but the current headquarters belongs to a new building built in 1932.

The work could be carried out thanks to the important economic contribution of the Austrian businessman Max Glücksmann, who lived in Argentina for work, in part, due to his activity as a representative of the German record company Odeón. His passion for music and his cultivated knowledge of architecture were the reason why Glücksmann worked closely on the design of the synagogue together with the commissioned architect Alejandro Enquin, with whom they shared the same taste and constructive interests.

In the Jewish liturgy, music is one of the key elements. That is why Glücksmann insisted that the ceiling be vaulted to achieve outstanding acoustics that would allow one to enjoy the sound of the tubular organ that he had installed in 1931: a spectacular German Walker-brand instrument that today is one of the three that survive in the world, due to because the others were destroyed by Nazism during World War II.

With an austere aesthetic, the style of the work ranges from Romanesque to Byzantine with one foot set in Art Deco, the quintessential architectural style of the time. There is a great influence from the synagogues of northern France and southern Germany. The semicircular Roman arch is the main element that is repeated throughout the construction. Even at the base of the chandelier – in Romanesque style – that crowns the space, the arches are also repeated.

 

The synagogue has been named a historical monument by the city government.

 The facilities include a museum that addresses the history of the community, exhibits of a diverse range of items related to Judaism, a kosher restaurant, and of course, the synagogue. Within the synagogue two Conservative minyanim are carried out, one traditional and one egalitarian.

We invite you to attend the Kabbalat Shabbat services of the egalitarian minyan every Friday of the year at 7:30 p.m. The daily trades take place in the auxiliary temple, you can send us an email to check the updated schedules.

 

Keep in mind that for security reasons, it is necessary to present an original passport or ID at the time of admission.

Jewish Museum of Buenos Aires “Salvador Kibrick”

The museum was the first of its kind in Latin America and is located next to Argentina’s first synagogue in Calle Libertad, in the old Jewish neighborhood.

The museum was founded in 1967 by Doctor Salvador Kibrick, member of the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina. He was the first person to donate personal objects to the collection, including torah scrolls, siddurim, paintings, religious objects, old books, coins, and mezuzot.

The Jewish museum of Buenos Aires narrates the stories of the immigrants, our traditions and the Jewish colonies. Committed to transmit what is characteristic of the Jewish people, we present an interactive tour through a permanent collection in constant dialogue with the present aiming to create a link between the exhibition and interpretation.

The museum is open Mondays through Fridays from 10am to 6pm. It’s mandatory to present your original passport upon entry. Photocopies and digital photographs will not be accepted.

If you want to book a Jewish tour in Buenos Aires with a private local guide, contact us and we will customize a tour that will be meaningful and unforgettable.

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JEWISH HERITAGE TRAVEL TO SOUTH AMERICA